Thursday, May 10, 2012

Buckeye Water District's Offer Turned Down By East Liverpool

In an attempt to settle a breach of contract suit that has been going on for what seems like forever Buckeye Water District offered East Liverpool $5 million in cash to settle out of court. The details were reported in this morning's local papers in a Tom Giambroni article. This is the second attempt by the water district to make payment arrangements over the years. This is the second time East Liverpool elected officials greedily said no.

Future expansion plans to make areas of the county attractive to new business opportunities with a good, reliable source of water have been on hold with their continued reluctance. These are business opportunities that could create new jobs and benefit every community in Columbiana County.

The residents in Frederick Heights, in St. Clair Township, have been begging for a new source of water for years. BWD was set to go with expansion into that subdivision. They were practically ready to start digging trenches to install new water lines when East Liverpool forced them hold up.

We imagine coming up with that amount of cash would pretty much have the water district strapped for awhile. With the newest refusal the district is now forced to wait for a decision from the appellate court on their last appeal. There will be no expansion to possibly create economic opportunities for the time being.

We're left wondering how much black top could have been bought or how many grants for improvement projects are being missed in the East Liverpool community because they don't have the money for matching funds.

4 comments:

Anonymous
said...

BWD is the greedy party. Just look at what they charge us Wellsville residents for water service. From a legal standpoint, the BWD decided to breach the contract and the poor citizens will have to pay for their arrogance.

Ole Nib, I cannot beleive that you are blaming this on the City of East Liverpool. BWD breeched the contract with ELO. To offer a low ball figure with a take it or leave it offer is not good for ELO or any citizen. BWD has been arrogant in their operation of the water district with their good ole boy network and overcharging of water service.

Maybe, but we still think cash in the pocket would be benefitual for all concerned. It is difficult to consider $5,000,000 a "low ball figure".

We find East Liverpool's reluctance very inconsiderate for all the water district's customers and future customers. It's a stumbling block for future economic development, for the whole county, but they have proven to be quite adept at that for decades. All one needs to do is to look how Calcutta has developed since the 1960s mostly thanks to that reluctance.

And yes, we are Buckeye Water customers. Our rates are comparatively high but it is the price we have to pay to get a quality, dependable product.

Really, my water usually smells bad and is often light brown, and we have new lines through out the house and out to the street. I honestly don't see the quality being any better than what my friends draw for free from a well in Hillcrest. Bwd also does a terrible job patching any holes they dig in the street or sidewalk. I don't mind paying for water, but I don't think the quality is that exceptional for what they charge.